LoginGrave of the Fireflies Reviews
A great movie
Posted : 13 years, 5 months ago on 20 December 2010 03:42
Honestly, it has been a while since I have this flick but it definitely had a huge impact on me. If I remember it correctly, I even had the honor to see it on the silver screen at the time. Anyway, I had never seen anything like this before and, in my opinion, it is not one of the best animated films, it is in fact actually one of the best films ever made! Indeed, where should I start? Of course, you could argue that the animation might be dated but I would actually disagree. It is a beautiful and very well made picture and it shows that there is something actually rather poetic about hand-drawn animation compared to the rather coldness of CGI animation. Above all, the whole thing was just really heartbreaking, easily one of the most heartbreaking stories I have ever seen, and it was one of the very few times I almost burst into tears while watching a movie. Indeed, the whole thing is so heavy, so emotionally hardcore, I don’t know if I would actually dare watching it again. To conclude, it is a really powerful story beautifully animated, a great classic, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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One of the most heartbreaking films I've ever seen
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 10 March 2010 07:29
Grave Of The Fireflies truly is one of the most powerful animated films ever made. It is a film that shows us all what love really is. It tells an heroic and yet tragic tale of a young teenage boy who looks after his little sister during World War II. There havent been that many animated films that havent been half as emotional as this film was. This is the second most emotional non-Disney animated film after Shrek. This film made me feel really proud of myself because I have a little sister who is only 3 years old and it showed me how I can look after her. So, I have to say that this is one of the biggest inspirations to me. It is a story that a lot of people love because of the story and also of how affective it can be to peoples lives in general. Also, it is a film that can break peoples hearts because of the atmosphere of the film and what actually happens within it. This film was well directed but I was hoping that it would be directed by Hayao Miyazaki. But it was still a good direction from Isao Takahata. The script was good aswell because it truly seemed like a very heartfelt and epic animated fairy tale aswell. I would say that this is very similar to Miyazakis animated films because they are obviously animés. As far as live aciton war films are concerned, this one is quite similar to Life Is Beautiful because of an older close relative looking after a child apart from that it is brother looking after sister in Grave Of The Fireflies and father looking after son in Life Is Beautiful but they have quite a similar sort of meaning to it.
The chemistry between Sensuko and Senita was adorable because obviously all brothers and sister argue in real life but in this one, it shows that they can get along really well at times. It sort of helped me with my relationship with my 15 year old sister which is great. This was just so heartwarming without any violence, sex nor bad language. It shows us beauty aswell as the horror of WWII that is really was. It shows beauty of discovering about themselves. The animated effects were superb indeed which reached over my expectations because there werent really any animé films in the 1980s. This is like the start of great animated films. This is my second favourite animé film after Miyazakis Spirited Away. Masterpiece!!
The chemistry between Sensuko and Senita was adorable because obviously all brothers and sister argue in real life but in this one, it shows that they can get along really well at times. It sort of helped me with my relationship with my 15 year old sister which is great. This was just so heartwarming without any violence, sex nor bad language. It shows us beauty aswell as the horror of WWII that is really was. It shows beauty of discovering about themselves. The animated effects were superb indeed which reached over my expectations because there werent really any animé films in the 1980s. This is like the start of great animated films. This is my second favourite animé film after Miyazakis Spirited Away. Masterpiece!!
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Why must fireflies die so young?
Posted : 14 years, 5 months ago on 9 December 2009 03:30
''Why must fireflies die so young?''
A tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister's struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Tsutomu Tatsumi: Seita
Ayano Shiraishi: Setsuko
''September 21, 1945? that was the night I died''
With those words starts director Isao Takahata's most famous film, Grave of the Fireflies(Hotaru no haka, 1988). Quite differently to his long time friend and colleague legendary Hayao Miyazaki, Takahata prefers to leave fantasy elements in his films to a bare minimum. This is the way Takahata amazes viewers and audiences. If Miyazaki's fantastic visions from Spirited Away for example, make our jaws drop to floor with amazement, Takahata's close to reality stories touch us deeply by hitting our emotions. Grave of the Fireflies certainly does that masterly; being one of the few films that has managed to move me to tears.
The film, based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, tells the story of a young boy named Seita, who with his little sister Setsuko, lives in the 1940's Japan, during the World War II. After losing their mother during a bombing, Seita does everything in his power to create an illusion for Setsuko that things are fine and there is nothing to worry about. The film has been often blamed of being too depressing and having a sad conclusion, but I think it's the opposite. Of course this certainly is not the kind of film to make you smile, but it is already revealed in the beginning that both brother and sister will die. So when we reach the end of the movie; with an image of them as spirits, sitting on a bench looking happy and healthy, with a modern day city around them, this is actually a happy ending after all the suffering they went through.
It's very hard to say exactly why this film should deserve full stars from me. It just does. It's full of little beautiful scenes that instantly have an effect on you, accompanied by Michio Mamiya's peaceful music. Maybe the fact that it can make me wonder why it is so good is the proof enough to make it a masterpiece. And that is what Grave of the Fireflies is; a masterpiece. One of the most amazing films from Studio Ghibli and Isao Takahata's most famous film. Ultimate proof that animations can be used for so much more; not being merely restricted to children's stories.
It is hard to watch Fireflies and feel positive at all; the death and loss is too much for a number of people to fathom. However upon my own reflection; the movie is one of the greatest studies into loss, love and tragedy ever, which will stay with you and compel you to take a second look at anime and indeed life. For Anime is not simply just kiddie cartoons; it is simply another art form of conveying and presenting a story via an alternative format.
Initially distributed with Tonari no Totoro(1988); because it was the only way that Miyazaki could have been able to make his Totoro. The reason being that the original film pitch for that film was rejected, so they pitched a double feature with Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies, and the project was eventually backed financially by the original writer of the book on which Grave is based. Often being overlooked as a film because whenever Totoro was screened first, people were left happy satisfied, then left; They did not wish to be saddened by Fireflies afterward.
Interestingly, in South Korea, the release of the movie at the time was postponed indefinitely because of the concern that the movie somewhat justified Japan's role in World War II. The truth for me is this: This story is about two siblings, the effects of war, the harshness of people and the grim reality of being homeless, sick and starving. It is not sympathetic to Japan during this period nor is it unabashed propaganda. This is storytelling; this is an innocent perspective of a boy and his sister.
Again, you realize immediately this isn't a fantasy piece like Spirited Away but one of reality; which ends up being just as genius and just as compelling to witness. Isao Takahata has crafted a tale that also has historical significance; in the sense it displays the sense of hopelessness and desperation in Japan at the time and especially near the end of the second World War. A nation that could not support itself; where the rich have always stayed rich and the poor became poorer; ending with a divide that bears similarities to Spielberg's epic film adaptation of the book Empire of the Sun. The reality of Hotaru no haka cannot be stressed enough; the struggle mesmerizingly significant. Propels Anime, lifting it to new dizzying heights of storytelling.
A tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister's struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Tsutomu Tatsumi: Seita
Ayano Shiraishi: Setsuko
''September 21, 1945? that was the night I died''
With those words starts director Isao Takahata's most famous film, Grave of the Fireflies(Hotaru no haka, 1988). Quite differently to his long time friend and colleague legendary Hayao Miyazaki, Takahata prefers to leave fantasy elements in his films to a bare minimum. This is the way Takahata amazes viewers and audiences. If Miyazaki's fantastic visions from Spirited Away for example, make our jaws drop to floor with amazement, Takahata's close to reality stories touch us deeply by hitting our emotions. Grave of the Fireflies certainly does that masterly; being one of the few films that has managed to move me to tears.
The film, based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, tells the story of a young boy named Seita, who with his little sister Setsuko, lives in the 1940's Japan, during the World War II. After losing their mother during a bombing, Seita does everything in his power to create an illusion for Setsuko that things are fine and there is nothing to worry about. The film has been often blamed of being too depressing and having a sad conclusion, but I think it's the opposite. Of course this certainly is not the kind of film to make you smile, but it is already revealed in the beginning that both brother and sister will die. So when we reach the end of the movie; with an image of them as spirits, sitting on a bench looking happy and healthy, with a modern day city around them, this is actually a happy ending after all the suffering they went through.
It's very hard to say exactly why this film should deserve full stars from me. It just does. It's full of little beautiful scenes that instantly have an effect on you, accompanied by Michio Mamiya's peaceful music. Maybe the fact that it can make me wonder why it is so good is the proof enough to make it a masterpiece. And that is what Grave of the Fireflies is; a masterpiece. One of the most amazing films from Studio Ghibli and Isao Takahata's most famous film. Ultimate proof that animations can be used for so much more; not being merely restricted to children's stories.
It is hard to watch Fireflies and feel positive at all; the death and loss is too much for a number of people to fathom. However upon my own reflection; the movie is one of the greatest studies into loss, love and tragedy ever, which will stay with you and compel you to take a second look at anime and indeed life. For Anime is not simply just kiddie cartoons; it is simply another art form of conveying and presenting a story via an alternative format.
Initially distributed with Tonari no Totoro(1988); because it was the only way that Miyazaki could have been able to make his Totoro. The reason being that the original film pitch for that film was rejected, so they pitched a double feature with Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies, and the project was eventually backed financially by the original writer of the book on which Grave is based. Often being overlooked as a film because whenever Totoro was screened first, people were left happy satisfied, then left; They did not wish to be saddened by Fireflies afterward.
Interestingly, in South Korea, the release of the movie at the time was postponed indefinitely because of the concern that the movie somewhat justified Japan's role in World War II. The truth for me is this: This story is about two siblings, the effects of war, the harshness of people and the grim reality of being homeless, sick and starving. It is not sympathetic to Japan during this period nor is it unabashed propaganda. This is storytelling; this is an innocent perspective of a boy and his sister.
Again, you realize immediately this isn't a fantasy piece like Spirited Away but one of reality; which ends up being just as genius and just as compelling to witness. Isao Takahata has crafted a tale that also has historical significance; in the sense it displays the sense of hopelessness and desperation in Japan at the time and especially near the end of the second World War. A nation that could not support itself; where the rich have always stayed rich and the poor became poorer; ending with a divide that bears similarities to Spielberg's epic film adaptation of the book Empire of the Sun. The reality of Hotaru no haka cannot be stressed enough; the struggle mesmerizingly significant. Propels Anime, lifting it to new dizzying heights of storytelling.
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A complex animation for adults
Posted : 15 years, 9 months ago on 12 August 2008 03:29
"Why must fireflies die so young?"
When it comes to Japanese animated features, Studio Ghibli is unparalleled, with the animation purveyor's list of triumphs including Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and the transcendent Spirited Away. Another of the studio's highly acclaimed titles is 1988's Grave of the Fireflies, an adaptation of Nosaka Akiyuki’s novel of the same name, set in Japan during World War II. Still as vital, powerful and unbearably poignant in 2015 as it was back in the 1980s, this haunting yet admirably unsentimental animated endeavour is ultimately a moving story about the relationship between a brother and sister facing poverty and isolation, set against the backdrop of a devastating war. A survivalist drama, Grave of the Fireflies informs us of the collateral damage caused by the Japanese firebombing by the United States in WWII, shining a light on one consequence of warfare that's often overlooked.
The film is largely told through flashbacks, focusing on the final months of WWII. In 1945, bombs are being dropped across Japan by American pilots, leading to mass devastation. During a bombing raid, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and his little sister Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi) are forced from their home and separated from their parents. Desperate for food and shelter, the pair move in with their aunt, but she's distant, and her hospitality becomes increasingly frosty. Ultimately, Seita and Setsuko are driven to a life of fending for themselves, with Seita trying his hardest to shield his sister from the horrors occurring all around them. Tragically, the war takes its toll on the supply line, with food and water becoming scarcer as time goes on.
Grave of the Fireflies holds up due to the power of its themes and of director Isao Takahata's storytelling, even if the animation has dated to some extent, lacking the precise fluidity of more recent animated productions. The artists at Studio Ghibli spend years on any single production, meticulously hand-drawing every frame, and the artistry is staggering to behold. The visuals are often haunting, effortlessly capturing the time and place, while the colour scheme underscores the downbeat nature of this tale. Curiously, even though this is a downbeat movie, it's not boring or insufferably dour, with the production being bolstered by the rich artistry in each frame and the unforgettably poignant soundtrack by Michio Mamiya.
Although Grave of the Fireflies is often perceived and labelled as an anti-war film, this notion has been challenged by a number of critics, as well as director Takahata himself. War serves as more of a background detail than a primary focus here, but the movie undeniably has things to say about the futility and price of warfare, showing that civilians far away from the battlefield are still affected by all the fighting. Takahata, who actually co-founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki, presents the narrative in a matter-of-fact fashion, eschewing sentimentality and manipulation, and the resulting cinematic spell is effective and often enthralling. Moreover, the characters are not degraded, nor is their suffering fetishized. Better yet, the characters are handled with nuance.
A haunting standout in the Ghibli catalogue, Grave of the Fireflies has lost none of its potency or emotional power, and remains an essential watch for anime enthusiasts and film buffs. With its harrowing themes and visceral imagery, the movie proves that the animated format is not merely a children's medium, and can be used to tell rich, complex stories. There is a reason why Grave of the Fireflies has endured for years as one of the greatest animated movies of all time.
8.9/10
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Grave of the Fireflies review
Posted : 16 years, 11 months ago on 13 June 2007 07:31
Felt more deeply than any animated film I've ever seen in America.
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